Japanese electronics giant buys Horizon Nuclear Power

ANGLESEY can expect up to 7,000 new jobs after a Japanese company bought the company with the rights to build Wylfa B.

Hitachi, which announced the purchase of Horizon Nuclear Power from RWE Eon today (Tuesday, October 30), expects to create up to 6,000 jobs during construction and a further 1,000 positions once the new site is operational as part of its “100 year commiment” to the UK.

Horizon’s chief chief operating officer Alan Raymant said the company would look to resume its nuclear programme at Wylfa and Gloucestershire “at the earliest opportunity.”

He added: “This is excellent news and marks the opening of an exciting new chapter for Horizon. Hitachi has a proven international track record in the construction and operation of nuclear power stations.

“I’d particularly like to thank the community and its representatives on Anglesey and across Wales as a whole for their continued support, especially over recent months.”

The purchase is expected to be completed by the end of November, and Hitachi expects the first of the two 1,300 MW plants to be operational in the “first half” of the 2020s.

The company plans to make a “significant investment” in training engineers, construction teams and operating staff for the plants, and will work with its partners and with the region’s colleges and universities to develop training programmes.

First Minister Carwyn Jones said Hitachi’s purchase of Horizon was “very good news” for Wales and the UK.

He added: “The potential benefits of a new nuclear development on Anglesey would be substantial - not just in creating thousands of highly skilled jobs and boosting the supply chain - but in helping to secure our energy supply in the future.”

Energy Island programme director John Idris Jones added: “We very much hope that Horizon will continue to build on the strong links Wylfa’s current operators Magnox have built with the local community.

“We’re confident that the new owners will reaffirm Horizon’s commitment to maximizing opportunities for the local supply chain and workforce, training opportunities and community engagement.”